Dog teams by day, a green sky by night. This is Rovaniemi.
Which aurora chase drives far enough to get under clear sky. What a husky run costs per sled. Whether the frozen falls at Korouoma justify the long drive east. Reviews of the tours you can book from Rovaniemi.
Arctic Circle · 66°33′N
An aurora night, a husky run, a reindeer sleigh and the Korouoma ice.
01Night oneNorthern Lights Tour with Guaranteed SightingsOut past the town lights, chasing whichever patch of sky is clear.
02The husky runHusky Safari on a Snowy TrailThe dogs howl at the start line and go silent the moment they run.
03The reindeer sleighApukka Reindeer JourneyA walking pace through the spruce, a blanket over your knees.
04East to the iceKorouoma Canyon and Frozen Waterfalls TourKorouoma, where seeping springs freeze into icefalls on the cliffs.
Rovaniemi’s most popular days out.
Every Rovaniemi tour →The Lapland tours more travellers book than any others, and what each one is actually like.
1
Northern Lights Rovaniemi: Guaranteed Viewing & Unlimited Mileage
Set out from Rovaniemi at 7 pm with an English-speaking guide and a group capped at eight. The aurora hunt can mean a long drive, sometimes beyond Finland, as guides check conditions and search for clearer skies. Winter gear and hotel pickup are included; guides such as Dylan, Aneeq, and Beata have also helped with aurora photos.
From · $228
Read our review →
2
Lapland Northern Lights Tour with BBQ
from $81
3
Reindeer, Huskies & Santa Claus Village
from $213
4
Small-Group Northern Lights Wilderness Tour
from $136
5
Apukka Husky Adventure
from $237
6
2-Hour Snowmobiling Experience
from $148
7
Aurora Borealis Snowmobile Safari with Campfire
from $163
8
Snowmobile Safari, Reindeer & Husky Sleigh Ride
from $281
Three things Rovaniemi has that a ski resort does not.
Snow and dog sleds turn up all over the Nordic north. A painted line marking the Arctic Circle, a canyon hung with icefalls and a hotel rebuilt from snow every winter belong to this corner of Lapland.
Santa Claus Village
The village sits on the Arctic Circle about eight kilometres north of the town centre, beside the airport road, and a line across the square marks the latitude. Entry is free, Santa keeps office hours every day of the year, and the main post office stamps cards with its own Arctic Circle postmark. Come after dark in December, when the lights are on.
- 1Reindeer, Huskies & Santa Claus Village★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 1,543 reviews
- 2Snowmobile Safari into the Arctic Circle Forest★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 433 reviews
- 3Santa Claus Village and Arctic Circle★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 355 reviews
Korouoma Canyon
A rift valley a couple of hours east of town, where groundwater seeps out of the cliffs and freezes into icefalls taller than a house. The path down into the gorge is steep and icy, so the guided walks bring spikes for your boots. In the deep of winter the climbers arrive with axes; walkers come for the blue light inside the ice.
- 1Korouoma Canyon and Frozen Waterfalls Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 1,489 reviews
- 2Frozen Waterfalls of Korouoma Canyon & Pro Photos★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 248 reviews
- 3Korouoma Frozen Waterfalls Hike & Hot BBQ Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 90 reviews
The Arctic Snow Hotel
Each winter the hotel is rebuilt from snow and ice on a lakeshore outside Rovaniemi, with carved rooms, an ice bar and a restaurant where the tables are blocks of ice. Inside the snow rooms the air sits a few degrees below zero whatever the weather outside. Evening tours walk the corridors; staying means a thermal sleeping bag on an ice bed.
- 1Snow Hotel Tour and Ice Restaurant Dinner★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 345 reviews
- 2Arctic Snow Hotel Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 302 reviews
- 3Snow Hotel Tour with Food by the Fire★★★★★★★★★★ 4.4 · 144 reviews
Three ways to wait for the Rovaniemi sky to turn green.
The lights show from late August to early April on clear, dark nights, mostly from late evening into the small hours. Every tour below is a way of being somewhere dark when it happens. Here is what each kind costs to join.
Rovaniemi in January: minus twenty and a sun that barely clears the spruce.
Midwinter days are short and the cold is dry and deep. Most safari bases hand out thermal overalls, boots and mittens, but every day out here still wants a warm ending: a wood-fired sauna, dinner inside the snow hotel, an evening by the fire in a kota. Book one warm evening for every two out on the snow.
- 1Traditional Sauna and Ice Swimming Experiencefrom $88
- 2Snow Hotel Tour and Ice Restaurant Dinnerfrom $229
- 3Arctic Snow Hotel Tourfrom $118
What a day out in Rovaniemi actually costs.
Lapland is not a cheap place to play: the dogs, the deer and the snowmobile fuel all have to be paid for. Here is where the money goes, from museum tickets to your own husky team.
Arktikum and wildlife-park tickets, short sleigh rides and the cheaper aurora buses.
- 1Lapland Northern Lights Tour with BBQfrom $81
- 2Reindeer Experience with Sleigh Ridefrom $99
- 3Snowman World Entrance Ticketfrom $49
The standard half days: snowmobile runs, farm visits, Korouoma and most aurora chases.
Driving your own dog team, reindeer-and-husky combination days and private aurora cars.
Husky team, reindeer sleigh or snowmobile: how Rovaniemi takes you into the forest.
Huskies are fast and noisy, reindeer are slow and calm, and a snowmobile covers the most ground. All three leave from farms and safari bases a short transfer out of town, and the most popular of each are below.
- 1Reindeer, Huskies & Santa Claus Villagefrom $213
- 2Apukka Husky Adventurefrom $237
- 32-Hour Snowmobiling Experiencefrom $148
Four Rovaniemi bookings that sell out or melt away.
Most safaris can be arranged a day or two ahead. These four cannot: they hang on the calendar, on the thickness of the ice, or on the rest of the world wanting the same December week as you.
- 01Reindeer, Huskies & Santa Claus VillageThe weeks either side of Christmas are the busiest of the year in Rovaniemi. Village tours, and everything else, go first then.
- 02Korouoma Canyon and Frozen Waterfalls TourThe waterfalls only stand as ice in the deep of winter. Outside that window the canyon is a forest walk past wet rock.
- 03Snow Hotel Tour and Ice Restaurant DinnerThe snow rooms are carved fresh each winter and gone by spring. There is no off-season visit.
- 04Ice Floating in Forest Lake with Aurora BorealisFloating needs thick lake ice and a hole cut through it, so the season is short and the groups are small.
By place: the town, the Circle and the day trips
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